What do animals see when they see us?

(Cole Explains) What do animals see when they see us?

• The most astonishing animal moments caught on camera

Baby Bambi deer trapped in frozen pond - Unexpected animal moments caught on camera

140K-y-o lost city found on bottom of ocean

Podcast (possibly of AI origin) presents the information with ease, after odd man introduces it

A team of scientists has unearthed a concealed city beneath the ocean, potentially offering the first solid evidence of the mythical lost world.

Excavations revealed a Homo erectus skull, believed to be 140,000 years old, along with over 6,000 fossils from 36 species, such as Komodo dragons and elephants, in the Madura Strait off Indonesia.

What if AI could eat facts and spit out drawings and narration? No need to imagine. Here it is

Hypothetical sketch of monophylitic origin and diffusion of 12 varieties of men from Lemuria

.

Sundaland fossils offer tangible proof.

Reported by the Daily Mail, these remnants were entombed under sediment in an area that was once part of Sundaland (Malesia), a massive Southeast Asian land bridge.

• Hidden city built 140,000 years ago discovered at bottom of ocean (Osheen Yadav, May 24, 2025) Buried beneath the sea off the coast of Indonesia, scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery that could rewrite the story of human origins. The skull of Homo erectus, an ancient human ancestor, was discovered over 140,000 years after it was first buried, preserved beneath layers of silt and sand in the Madura Strait between the islands of Java [site of the world's largest excavated Buddhist temple known as Borobudur] and Madura. Experts say the site may be the first physical evidence of the lost world, a prehistoric landmass known as Sundaland that once connected Southeast Asia in a vast tropical plain. More: Daily Mail Online

• Hidden city built 140,000 years ago discovered at bottom of ocean (MSN.com)
• Hidden city built 140,000 years ago discovered at bottom of ocean (NewsBreak)

Marks on some of the animal bones suggest early human hunting practices. The discoveries provide a window into the behaviors of our ancestors and their responses to shifting environments. More:

• 140,000-year-old city found at bottom of ocean in 'first physical evidence' of lost world

• America's mysterious 'UFO base' uncovered by CIA is new alien hotspot

• 

  Sample of Lemur diversity

  LEMURIA was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean. It was later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the discovery of plate tectonics and continental drift in the 20th century [1]. The hypothesis was proposed as an explanation for the presence of lemur fossils on Madagascar and the Indian subcontinent but not in continental Africa or the Middle East. Biologist Ernst Haeckel's suggestion in 1870 that Lemuria could be the ancestral home of humans caused the hypothesis to move beyond the scope of geology and zoogeography, ensuring its popularity outside of the framework of the scientific community. More
• CNN anchor stops broadcast for breaking news - and it's a major blow for Trump
• Urgent Level 4 travel warning issued by US gov for popular vacation spot (Daily Express US)
• Divers use sonar systems and find 100-year-old lost sub of California
• Toby Codd, Hannah Broughton, The Daily Express via MSN.com, May 26, 2025; Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Life of Lichen (video)

(UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County) April 22, 2021. Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center.

Explore the fascinating world of lichens -- which are mutually beneficial combinations of fungi, cyanobacteria, and plants (algae) -- with UF/IFAS Pinellas County Extension Specialist James Stevenson.

Produced at the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center, starring James Stevenson, written by James Stevenson, and edited by Julia Myers. Imagery courtesy of Brooker Creek Preserve staff and Canva.com unless otherwise noted.

• Website: brookercreekpreserve.org
• Facebook.com/BrookerCreek...
• [Lichen is a rich source of plant-based/vegan Vitamin D]

The makers would love to know how many students they were able to reach with this video. Let them know here: bit.ly/gatiform. Thanks for watching this Great American Teach-In video brought by faculty and staff of Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center and UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County. Electronic Data Information Source Publication: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1296

Thich Nhat Hanh died one year ago

At least Lion's Roar and my immediate practicing disciples remember me.

01.20.2023 REMEMBERING THICH NHAT HANH This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and founder of the Engaged Buddhism movement, Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away on January 22, 2022, in Vietnam. Affectionately referred to as “Thay,” by his students, Thich Nhat Hanh is widely considered one of the most important spiritual leaders of our time. In his 95 years, he made a global impact as a teacher, author, and activist. His simple yet deeply profound teachings led countless people toward a life of mindfulness, joy, and peace and helped define Buddhism for the modern world. The three pieces below offer a look into the remarkable life and teachings of this wonderful teacher, and how his community of students are continuing to carry his dharma forward. In his book, At Home in the World, published in 2016, Nhat Hanh addressed the idea of his death, writing: “Even when the cloud is not there, it continues as snow or rain. It is impossible for the cloud to die. It can become rain or ice, but it cannot become nothing. The cloud does not need to have a soul in order to continue. There’s no beginning and no end. I will never die. There will be a dissolution of this body, but that does not mean my death.” “I will continue, always.” —Lilly Greenblatt, Digital Editor, Lion’s Roar

A Cloud Never Dies Andrea Miller on what Thich Nhat Hanh taught her, his inspiring and courageous life, and how — through us — his wisdom will continue. I wondered if I would ever see Thich Nhat Hanh again. It was 2013, during his final North American teaching tour, and we were at Blue Cliff Monastery in the Catskills. The retreat had just wrapped up, and I’d stayed to interview him. We talked about many things — his family, karma, the key to happiness. Then at the end, feeling a mix of happy and sad, I put my hands together in gassho. It was wonderful to connect with Thay, as his students call him, but he was getting older, frailer. Would this be the last time I’d see him?

Thich Nhat Hanh on The Practice of Mindfulness The great meditation teacher Thich Nhat Hanh teaches five mindfulness exercises to help you live with happiness and joy. Mindfulness gives birth to joy and happiness. Another source of happiness is concentration. The energy of mindfulness carries within it the energy of concentration. When you are aware of something, such as a flower, and can maintain that awareness, we say that you are concentrated on the flower. When your mindfulness becomes powerful, your concentration becomes powerful, and when you are fully concentrated, you have a chance to make a breakthrough, to achieve insight. If you meditate on a cloud, you can get insight into the nature of the cloud. Or you can meditate on a pebble, and if you have enough mindfulness and concentration, you can see into the nature of the pebble. You can meditate on a person, and if you have enough mindfulness and concentration, you can make a breakthrough and understand the nature of that person. You can meditate on yourself, or your anger, or your fear, or your joy, or your peace.

Continuing Thay’s Teachings Eight of Thich Nhat Hanh’s students who are now teachers themselves share how they’re helping to carry his dharma into the future. At one of the long summer retreats in Plum Village, I spoke publicly about spending time with my mother during the last few months of her life. A nun who felt touched by my story came over to me at the start of walking meditation. She bowed and took my hand. She did it in such a clear and straightforward way that I felt very happy as we walked together with Thich Nhat Hanh and the sangha around the lotus pond. I hardly knew her; there had even been a minor incident earlier when I caught myself judging her because she had behaved in a way that I didn’t approve of. Now she had come to me, had taken my hand, and we were walking together as if we were best friends. To simply feel her warm hand and to settle into every step taken together very mindfully was enough to let go of any prejudice I might have harbored against her.

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X-mas: "Heroic Dose" of Magic Mushrooms

Soon I'll experience states of samadhi without entheogenic/psychedelic 'shrooms.

Santa is a psychedelic mushroom-eating shaman

(The Atlantic) Many historians think that the North American figure of "Santa Claus" can be traced back to a monk named Saint Nicholas of Myra, a bearded 4th-century Greek Christian with a penchant for charitable giving.

Yeah, that's it, the rainbow body of meditation.

This St. Nicholas guy was presumably the basis for the Dutch Sinterklaas, patron saint of children, who donned a big, red cape and rode around on a white horse to visit children on the name day of Saint Nicholas, the sixth of December.

According to folklore, Sinterklaas carried a red book in which he recorded a child’s behavior over the past year as having been good or naughty. Sinterklaas is said to have been slowly transformed into modern-day Santa by 1700s Dutch immigrants in the New World.

“But maybe there’s another story worth telling this season — one about a psychedelic mushroom-eating shaman from the Arctic.”

That’s Matthew Salton, whose animated short film, Santa is a Psychedelic Mushroom, presents a different origin story entirely.

It’s a compelling narrative, backed by Harvard professors, anthropologists, and esteemed mycologists (studiers of mushrooms) alike, and it bears an uncanny resemblance to the modern tradition of Santa Claus.

• More: theatlantic.com/video/ind...

"Santa is a Psychedelic Mushroom" was directed by Matthew Salton (matthewsalton.com) and produced by NYT Op-Docs. It is part of The Atlantic Selects, an online showcase of short documentaries from independent creators, curated by The Atlantic. Subscribe on YouTube: AtlanticYT

Thich Nhat Hanh, my dad makes me suffer

Plum Village Online, Jan. 17, 2015; CC Liu, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

I've had it with this fatso. I never want to be like him! He makes me suffer. (The Simpsons)

Topics: mindfulness, Plum Village, family, children, kids, father, difficulties, change, breaking contact, relationship, interbeing, change yourself, acceptance, samsara, divorce.

Q&A with Thich Nhat Hanh

"Thay" answers questions on June 21, 2014. Question: "My father makes me suffer a lot. Should I keep seeing him?" Answer: Transform the "father" within, and the external father will become much easier to know how to interact with.

COMMENTS

But, Thay, the poor innocent child is in danger.

Gino Asci: Did everyone there miss the fact that the child said, “It has come to be almost dangerous, and I don’t want to go anymore”? Who is this child’s guardian, and why is this child allowed to be anywhere near anyone who could harm him? The word "danger" spoken by anyone is a clear sign that there is something seriously wrong. Is this child okay today?

I'm glad I did the inner work.

Florabelle Raindrops: He said that he does not need to be around him, but love the father inside of himself. For he (the young man) is his father. If he is not mindful, this child may internalize the father's anger and become like him. When he can transform and find peace within himself, when he is older and ready, dealing with his father will be much easier because he will deal with him from a place of [acceptance and] strength, healing, and self love, not need, lack, and anger. He heard the child's desire for the father to change. So if the child wants the relationship to EVER change, the child has to do the work within himself -- not on his father. Listen to what Thay is saying. Let's stop trying to transform our fathers on the outside. Let them be. And let's be the person we need to be to be healthy within ourselves. Depend on a support system, spiritually and physically. Accept things as they are. Thay gave advice that will last this child's life, not just for this moment and situation. This boy is a child [Thay knows, who has been going to Plum Village for more than a year]. We watch a short video and can't assume we know the whole situation. These people have been around this particular child for some time. They know him and said they are here for him. More

Trip to Deer Park Monastery (video)

Ananda, Dhr. Seven, Ellie Askew, Jen B. (Dharma Meditation Initiative); Conscious Living TV; Crystal Q. (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

A welcoming sign at Deer Park Monastery near hidden mountain.

Dharma Meditation Initiative took a SoCal "Buddhist Circuit" trip that started with the oldest Sri Lankan temple, the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in Pasadena, then over to the new Thabarwa Nature Meditation Center in Baldwin Park, the enormous Burmese Progressive Buddhist Association in Azusa, next to the garden paradise Dhammakaya International Meditation Center, the largest Thai temple around, Wat Padhammachart in La Puente (watpala1.org), then down the 15 Freeway to Thich Nhat Hanh's Deer Park Monastery in Escondido (Spanish for "hidden") for its occasional "Day of Mindfulness" (as the video shows) before returning north with a layover at Wat Metta, the American "avocado grove monastery" of Thai origin, to catch the daily "Q & A" with Ajahn Thanissaro (Mr. Geoff DeGraff). It was a brief but insightful closer to a day of mindfulness.

Conscious

VIDEO: "A Visit to Thich Nhat Hanh's Deer Park Monastery" (Summer 2017): Travel with Conscious Living TV to Deer Park Monastery, a sustainable Buddhist monastery started by Thich Nhat Hanh in the hills of Escondido, California and learn their simple daily meditation practice and how they are living off the grid with solar power and bio-diesel.

Deer Park: Day of Mindfulness (free, Jan. 27)

Deer Park; Ananda (Dharma Meditation Initiative), Dhr. Seven, Ellie, Jen, Wisdom Quarterly

Deer Park is a place for SoCal to practice.

The world-famous Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh established Deer Park Monastery in Southern California. 

Dharma Meditation Initiative will visit for a "Day of Mindfulness" emphasizing walking meditation in nature. We can strive to awaken together.

Transportation available from the Pasadena/Arcadia/L.A. area leaving at 7:00 AM. Questions? Message co-organizer Ellie.
 
Day of Mindfulness

Map of Deer Park Monastery

This starts with a walking meditation gathering at 9:00 AM. As we arrive at main parking lot, we will enjoy our steps up the paved road into Deer Park, allowing our bodies to relax, bringing our attention to our feet, letting go of anxiety and stress. Gathering location is on right on the main road, under the oak and pepper trees, close to the campground shower block.

Monastic Dharma teachers will offer an introduction to the practice after the walking meditation in the same area.

• Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Inc., (760) 291-1003

"Walk With Me" - Thich Nhat Hanh (film)

Thich Nhat Hanh; WestEndFilmsUK; CC Liu, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Follow the film's official website (walkwithmefilm.com) and Facebook page (facebook.com/walkwithmefilm...).  Directed by Max Pugh and Marc J. Francis. Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch.  WALK WITH ME is a cinematic journey into the world of mindfulness -- the practice of bringing one's attention to the present moment. Meet Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr's nominee for a Nobel Peace Prize, the world-famous Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh or Thay.

Q: What is consciousness ? A: Mind and matter (nama-rupa) inter-are.

He is known as “The Father of Mindfulness,” “The Other Dalai Lama,” and “The Zen Master who fills stadiums.” Filmed over three years with unprecedented access, this visceral film offers a rare insight into a community of meditators who have left their families and given up all their possessions to practice the art of mindfulness at the Plum Village monastery in rural France.

(WalkWithMeFilm.com) How to get this movie into theaters

The First Sutra (Turning the Dharma Wheel)

Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.), Dhammacakkapavattana Sutra (SN LVI.11, Budsas.org/ebud)

Gold Buddha in Sarnath, India near Varanasi/Benares (chandrasekaran a flickr.com)

Theravada monks visit Sarnath stupa, Uttar Pradesh, India (Stefaan & Eric/flickr)

 

Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma

The Buddha teaches the Five Ascetics

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Varanasi in the Deer Park at Resort of the Seers (Isipatana, Sarnath). There the Blessed One addressed the five ascetics:

"Meditators, these two extremes should not be followed by one who has [renounced and] gone forth into homelessness. What two? The pursuit of sensual delight in sensual pleasures, which is low, vulgar, the way of worldlings, ignoble, unbeneficial, and the pursuit of self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Wayfarer (Tathagata, i.e., the Buddha) has awakened to the Middle Way, which gives rise to direct vision, which gives rise to knowledge [knowing and seeing], which leads to peace, to wisdom, to enlightenment, to nirvana.

"And what, meditators, is that Middle Way awakened to by the Wayfarer, which gives rise to vision... which leads to nirvana? It is this Noble Eightfold Path, that is: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This, meditators, is that Middle Way awakened to by the Wayfarer, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to wisdom, to enlightenment, to nirvana.

The unseen devas are also eager to learn.

"Now this, meditators, is the noble truth of suffering (unsatisfactoriness, disappointment, dissatisfaction, distress, lack of fulfillment): Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the Five Aggregates of Clinging are suffering.

"Now this, meditators, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering (disappointment): It is this craving [rooted in ignorance, delusion, wrong view, greed, and aversion] which leads to re-becoming, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking satisfaction here and there, that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for continued becoming [everlasting existence], craving for annihilation.

Devotees at Sarnath stupa (Stefaan & Eric/flickr)

"Now this, meditators, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: It is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that very craving, the letting go and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it.

"Now this, meditators, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: It is this very Noble Eightfold Path, that is, right view...right concentration.

"'This is the noble truth of suffering': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, direct experience, and light.

"'This noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision...and light.

"'This noble truth of suffering has been fully understood': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision...and light.

"'This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, direct experience, and light.

"'This noble truth of the origin of suffering is to be abandoned': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision...and light.

"'This noble truth of the origin of suffering has been abandoned': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision...and light.

Dharma wheel (hmhalff/flickr.com)

"'This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, direct experience, and light.

"'This noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be realized': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision...and light.

"'This noble truth of the cessation of suffering has been realized': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision...and light.

"'This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, direct experience, and light.

"'This noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering is to be developed': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision...and light.

"'This noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering has been developed': thus, meditators, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, direct experience, and light.

"So long, meditators, as my knowledge and vision of these Four Noble Truths as they really are in their three phases and 12 aspects was not thoroughly purified in this way, I did not claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with its devas, Mara, and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its [earthly] devas and humans.

• NOTE: The "three phases" (ti-pariva) are: (i) the knowledge of each truth (sacca-nana), for example, "This is the noble truth of suffering"; (ii) the knowledge of the task to be accomplished regarding each truth (kicca-nana), for example, "This noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood"; and (iii) the knowledge of accomplishment regarding each truth (kata-nana), for example, "This noble truth of suffering has been fully understood." The "12 modes" (dvadasakara) are obtained by applying the three phases to the Four Noble Truths.

"But when my knowledge and vision of these Four Noble Truths as they really are in their three phases and 12 aspects was thoroughly purified in this way, then I claimed to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with its devas, Mara, and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its [earthly] devas and humans.

"The knowledge and the vision arose in me: 'Unshakeable is this liberation of mind/heart. This is my last birth. Now there is no more re-becoming."

This is what the Blessed One said. Being pleased, the group of five ascetics delighted in the Blessed One's words. And while this sutra was being spoken, there arose in Kondanna the dust-free, stainless vision of the Dharma: "Whatever is subject to origination is also subject to cessation."

Word gets around

And when the Wheel of the Dharma had been set in motion by the Blessed One, the Earth devas shouted: "At Varanasi, in the Deer Park at Isipatana, this unsurpassed Wheel of the Dharma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped by any ascetic or Brahmin or deva or Mara or Brahma or by anyone in the world!" Having heard the shout of the Earth devas, the devas of the realm of the Four Great Sky Kings shouted: "At Varanasi...this unsurpassed Wheel of the Dharma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped...by anyone in the world." 

Having heard the cry of the devas of the realm of the Four Great Kings, the devas of the realm of the Thirty-Three...the Yama devas... the Contented devas... the devas Delighting in Creation... the devas Delighting in the Creations of Others... the devas of Brahma's company raised a cry: "At Varanasi, in the Deer Park at Isipatana, this unsurpassed Wheel of the Dharma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped by any ascetic or Brahmin or deva or Mara or Brahma or by anyone in the world."

So at that moment, at that instant, at that second, the shout spread as far as the Brahma-world, and this ten thousandfold world-system shook, quaked, and trembled, and an immeasurable glorious radiance appeared in the world surpassing the divine majesty of the devas [the "shining ones"].

Then the Blessed One uttered this inspired utterance: "Kondanna has indeed understood! Kondanna has indeed understood!" In this way Kondanna acquired the name "Anna Kondanna -- Kondanna Who Has Understood."